Fashion & Style

I have never really had the desire for leather jackets before, because I have always related it to punk, rock n roll and motorcycles- none of which describes me. But lately, with the the mix and matching of rock n girly and layering, I have had a change of mind…and now I really want one! They seem to be everywhere!
There is the more classic biker chic kind like this one from Alice + Olivia (left)- I love it! And then there is the more casual looking ones like this one from Mike & Chris with a combo of material giving it a sportier edge (Mike & Chris- think Rachel Bilson last year).
To make them more layer friendly, some designers also made these cropped biker chic leather jackets like these two from Sword (left) and Clandestine for DKNY (right). I especially LOVE the soft dove grey color of the Sword leather jacket. I can totally imagine it over a flowy black dress looking very cool.
Here we play with the fit and the neckline at Madison Marcus (left) and Adam plus Eve (right). Its interesting… but I got to say, not my favourite.
Going a bit more to the extreme, we have these girly-fied leather jackets with added feminine touches from Madison Marcus. I think the brown one with the frills (left) is a bit too much but I love the grey one with the ruffled neckline (right)- its perfect!

Sigh… too bad for me that leather jackets are about one of the most expensive types of jackets out there…..

Image Source: Shopbop, Shop Intuition, Elle

Tags: style

The Glam Guide has the scoop on being glamourous at any size

Flair found an awesome vintage vendor on Etsy and shares her finds

ShopDiary has the scoop on Cavalli for H&M hitting stores

Fabulously Broke in the City has tips on eating out the healthier way

Couture in the City has the scoop on winning the ultimate bachelorette party in Las Vegas…hmmm…maybe I should enter?

NOTE: Image source not known

Tags: fashion

To say that Miami was a surreal experience would be an understatement.  I was invited not just as a bumbling amateur but as someone who supposedly has some knowledge, some insight and has a degree of professionalism… you’re thinking ‘Yeah right!’ aren’t you? 

First off, being asked to take part in a conference to about 400 people (see pic to the left of the gallery crammed with people) was a daunting experience enough.  So I probably got a lot of people bored listening to me blah on about the topic of whether blogs can be considered to be legitimate fashion media.  Those of you who did attend hopefully got a rounded insight on the subject as I have expressed before, it’s not as simple as saying ‘Blogs will take over media!’.  Let’s just say Susan Scafaldi, with her interesting and professional presentation about copyright in fashion and Ann Claes (working for Veronique Branquinho in marketing) and her talk on the business of a young label were far more exhilarating than me going ‘Um…so….blogs eh?’. 

Then there was the four day masterclass which I taught together with graphic whiz Etienne Mineur; ‘Fashion Pizel’.  With five students (could not have asked for a better class really!), we guided them into making a behind the scenes short video on the other masterclasses going on using Final Cut and Adobe After Effects.  Etienne was the technical wizard whereas I hopefully offered some creative advice on the style/direction.  Without being self indulgent, once they’re up online, I’d like to share a few.  It did feel a little odd offering advice, giving suggestions and basically acting like some sort of voice of authority throughout the experience.  Hopefully the students got something out of it (mainly the technical know-how of Final Cut… which can be a pain in the arse to use…).

As for the other masterclasses, I can only say that the difference between the teaching methods in the fashion schools of US and Europe were further heightened for me as I observed them, and it’s a subject that was touched upon last year in Texas.  Students were eager to show their portfolios to the masterclass teaching collective to get some ‘outside US’ advice that seemed quite invaluable to them.  Even I got to take an indepth look at some students’ work who wanted to get an opinion from me (for what reason, I haven’t a clue…).  Talking with the students, they revealed that teachers at their American schools seemed to stifle their creativity and push them towards something of a more commercial nature.  That is not to say, it’s as simple as commercial US vs. creative Europe.  That would be too compact way of summarising it all but it was quite amazing to see how marked the differences are between fashion students there and the students here. 

With organisations like the Arts of Fashion endeavouring to bring a taster course of European fashion schooling to the USA, who get the chance to learn from people like Tony Delcampe (director of La Cambre’s fashion dept.), Laurent Edmond (1st asstn. to Martin Margiela in the Artisanal line), the designers behind the label Own, Natalia Brilli (an accessories designer) and Hermann Fankhauser from the label Wendy and Jim, it’s no wonder the scale of the Arts of Fashion event grows each year.  I also got to know students from the States who realised that their opportunities are not limited to graduating in their own country and staying there to find a job, and that their options are more fluid than that. 

My bish-bosh-bash of a video about the masterclasses and the final show is nowhere near as professional as the ones my students made but anyway…to summarise… 

Tags: fashion

• Easy to put on -because I’m always leaving my flat less than 10 mins before lectures start and rushing out of the door.
• 1-2.5inch-high heels -because flats are too low and 4-inch high heels are too high for me to walk quickly and comfortably around in. Unfortunately, most of the shoes out there these days are 4 inches high.
• From the high-street -because my budget can only afford high-street shoes, and my conscience wouldn’t feel as bad when they get dirty and ruined by the black, watery London streets.
• Style-wise, they don’t have to be super trendy but they have to be modern and somewhat stylish. I do go to school in the city afterall.

With ankle boots being all the rage this season, you would think it would be easy to find a pair, but it certainly wasn’t. For example, Top Shop sells a pair for around 75 pounds (which is a bit too expensive,) and Office has a not-very-pretty pair for 60 pounds. Fortunately, my absolutely favourite high-street store, Zara had a pair that fit my criterias, together with the curved, Prada-inspired heels. (You can’t really see the heels in this picture but they’re there.)

Excuse my numerous posts about ankle boots if you’re sick of them. I’m just excited I finally got a pair of rainy day shoes!

Tags: fashion

Gossip Girls (well, boy), Stylehive avatar fun, sexy booties and more, made this the best week on Stylehive since last week!

#1 StylePoll: Pick the Stylehiver With the Coolest Pic!

#2 HiveSlides: Layer With Lovely Handmade Legwear

#3 Hot Interview: The Boys of Gossip Girl Talk Style… and Girls

#4 StyleSlides: Designer Maija Puoskari’s Paramount Passion

#5 StyleSlides: Blingin’ Chandelier Earrings Scream “Hey You, Notice Me!”

#6 StyleIcon: Margherita Missoni, An Icon In The Makingr

#7 HiveSlides: Pimp Out Your Bar For the Ultimate Holiday Party

#8 StyleSlides: 10 Seriously Sexy Oxford Booties

#9 StylePoll: Would You Buy Anything That Jessica Simpson Designed?

#10 StyleAdvice: The Right Shoes for Different Body Types - The Heel Deal

And if you want more shoe styleadvice, check out the rest of the series here:

StyleAdvice: The Right Shoes for Your Body Type - Strapped For Style

StyleAdvice: The Right Shoes for Different Body Types - Flats

StyleAdvice: The Right Shoes for Different Body Types - The Boot Rules!

StyleAdvice: The Right Shoes for Your Body Type - Flip Flop Frenzy

Tags: style